The Analysed Bible, Volumes 1, 2, 3, by Rev. G. Campbell Morgan: The Book of 1 Corinthians - Analysed and Explained in Detail (Full Text and PDF).

A detailed analysis of the book of 1 Corinthians: Christ and His Church, The Medium of Work.

To the best of our knowledge we are of the understanding that this book, being published in 1907, and freely available elsewhere on the internet is in the public domain.

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The Book of 1 Corinthians - Analysed and Explained in Summary - Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of "The Analysed Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.

To the best of our knowledge we are of the understanding that this book, taken from Volumes 1, 2, & 3 of the "Analysed Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan published in 1907, and freely available elsewhere on the internet is in the public domain.

1 CORINTHIANS - CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH. THE MEDIUM OF WORK

PART A: INTRODUCTION - 1 Corinthians 1:1-1:8

A1. The Writers - 1Cor. 1:1

  1. Paul
  2. Sosthenes

A2. The Church - 1Cor. 1:2-1:8

  1. Nature - 1:2-1:3
  2. Character - 1:4
  3. Equipment - 1:5-1:8

Part B: CORRECTIVE - THE CARNALITIES - 1 Corinthians 1:9-11:34

Fundamental Proposition - 1Cor. 1:9

B1. Divisions - 1Cor. 1:10-4:21

  1. The Wisdom of Words, and the Word of the Cross - 1:10-2:16
  2. Causative Carnality Corrected - 3:1-4:21

B2. Derelictions - 1Cor. 5:1-6:20

  1. Discipline - 5:1-5:13
  2. Disputes - 6:1-6:11
  3. Desecration - 6:12-6:20

B3. Difficulties - 1Cor. 7:1-11:34

  1. Concerning Marriage - 7:1-7:40
  2. Concerning Things sacrificed to Idols - 8:1-11:1
  3. Concerning Women - 11:2-11:16
  4. Concerning the Lord's Supper - 11:17-11:34a
  5. Conclusion - 11:34b

Part C: CORRECTIVE - THE SPIRITUALITIES - 1 Corinthians 12:1-15:58

C1. The Unifying Spirit - 1Cor. 12:1-12:31

  1. The Creation of Unification - 12:1-12:3
  2. The Administration of Unification - 12:4-12:7
  3. The Realization of Unification - 12:8-12:31

C2. The Unfailing Law - 1Cor. 13:1-14:40

  1. The Law - 13:1-13:13
  2. The Law at Work - 14:1-14:40

C3. The Ultimate Triumph - 1Cor. 15:1-15:57

  1. The Gospel of Christ's Resurrection - 15:1-15:11
  2. The Importance of Christ's Resurrection - 15:12-15:34
  3. Intellectual Difficulties - 15:35-15:50
  4. The Assurance and Challenge - 15:51-15:57

Final Injunction - 1Cor. 15:58

PART D: ILLUSTRATIVE CONCLUSION - 1 Corinthians 16:1-16:24

D1. Concerning the Collection - 1Cor. 16:1-16:4

D2. Paul the Worker - 1Cor. 16:5-16:9

D3. Timothy the Worker - 1Cor. 16:10-16:11

D4. Apollus the Worker - 1Cor. 16:12

D5. Injunctions to Workers - 1Cor. 16:13-16:14

D6. Inter-relation of Workers - 1Cor. 16:15-16:18

D7. Salutations - 1Cor. 16:19-16:24

Introduction - 1 Corinthians 1:1-1:8

The history of the founding of the Corinthian church is found in Acts 18. In the days of the apostle Corinth had become the virtual capital of Greece. It was famous for its wealth, magnificence, and culture. "To live as they do at Corinth" was an expression of the time, which suggested conditions of luxury and licentiousness, for the city was a veritable hotbed of all kinds of impurity.

The church existing in the midst of this most appalling corruption was influenced by it in more ways than one, and this letter was immediately addressed to the correcting of the disorder arising from this influence. It has been called the epistle of New Testament Church order. While that is perfectly true, it describes rather that which is incidental than that which is fundamental. It is a treatise dealing with Church order, but always in view of the fact that the Church is an instrument for the accomplishment of a certain purpose; and pre-eminently, therefore, it is the epistle which deals with the fitness of the Church for fellowship with Jesus Christ in His work.

After a general Introduction (1:1-8) the epistle falls into two main parts. The first is Corrective, and deals with the Carnalities (1:9-11:34); the second is Constructive, and deals with the Spiritualities (12-15). It ends with an illustrative Conclusion (16).

In his introduction, after referring to himself as "an apostle ... through the will of God," and associating Sosthenes with what he was about to write, Paul prepared the way by addressing the Church, describing it as to its character, "sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints"; and as to its equipment, "enriched in Him."

A. Corrective. The Carnalities - 1 Corinthians 1:9-11:34

In this division the first thing is the statement of a fundamental proposition, in which the apostle declared that the Church was called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ the Lord, and affirmed the faithfulness of God to such fellowship.

From that point he proceeded to deal with the manifestations of the dominance of the carnal nature in the Corinthian Church, which proved that they were not living as saints, and therefore were not fulfilling the responsibilities of fellowship.

The first subject dealt with is that of the divisions which had arisen among them. The key to the understanding of these divisions is found in the phrase, "the wisdom of words." Each teacher, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, had laid emphasis on some distinctive phase of truth. The Corinthians had grouped themselves into parties around these emphases. A corrective for such schism would be found in an understanding of "the Word of the Cross." Then followed a contrast at length of the wisdom of the age, as manifested in "the wisdom of words," with the wisdom of God, as revealed in "the Word of the Cross." Reminding them of his own method when he first came to them, he was careful to declare that the Word of the Cross was indeed one of surpassing wisdom, dealing with the deep things of God, and the natural man could not receive it.

He then proceeded to show the real meaning of these divisions. They arose out of the carnality of the Corinthian Christians. This carnality had expressed itself in their partiality for certain teachers, and therefore the apostle was careful to teach the subservience and sublimity of the work of the ministry. The subservience is manifest in the fact that all contribute to the final result upon which the heart of God is set. The sublimity is evidenced in the fact that all co-operate with God. Elaborating the figure of the Church as the building of God, he declared that all exercising the ministry of the Word were building upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, and that the value of their work would ultimately be tested by Him. The point of the argument is that the supreme matter is the building, and the builders are subservient. Continuing, he rose on to a yet higher level as he declared the purpose of the building - "ye are a sanctuary of God." "The Spirit of God dwelleth in you." In the light of this almost overwhelming statement the apostle wrote the most searching and solemn warning against the destruction of the temple. Summarizing his argument that the wisdom of the age is foolishness with God, he proceeded to show that all things belong to such as receive the revelation; both the teachers, and all the facts and forces which touch personality and affect it. Returning to the subject of the Christian teachers, the apostle defined their responsibility as being "ministers of Christ," and their work as that of "stewards of the mysteries of God." Such a conviction produced independence of the judgment of men, and remitted everything to the final test of the Lord Himself. Then followed a passage laden with scorn for the folly of the Corinthian Christians, and characterized by keen satire. It would seem, however, as though this faithful steward of the mysteries of God feared lest the impetuous sweep of his anger should be misunderstood, and he hastened to close the section in words full of tenderness. The apostle now passed to other evidences of the carnality of the Church. The first was that of a lack of discipline. A case of immorality utterly bad, judged even by the low standards of morality current in Corinth among the Gentiles, had brought no sense of shame to the Church, and consequently no action had been taken in the matter. The Church was called to immediate and drastic dealing therewith, in order first to the ultimate salvation of the excommunicated man; and secondly, to the purification of the Church, which would suffer in its corporate capacity through the toleration within its borders of the leaven of evil. From the particular illustration he deduced the general principles upon which the Church must ever act in the presence of evil within her borders. The wicked man must be put away from the company of the saints.

The next dereliction dealt with was that of the submission of disputes to heathen tribunals by members of the Church. The teaching is clear and remarkable, and has an application for all time. Disputes among saints should be settled between saints, and wholly within the confines of the Church. This decision he based, first, upon the fitness of the saints for judging such things; and secondly, upon the unfitness of unbelievers for the same work.

The last dereliction may be described as desecration of the temple of God by impurity of personal life. The apostle laid down principles revealing the limitations of Christian liberty, and declaring that the believer joined to the Lord "is one Spirit"; and affirmed therefore that all the functions and powers of the life must be dominated by that Spirit. Such a statement revealed, as in a flash, the awful heinousness of all such sin.

The last section of the corrective division arose out of difficulties which had arisen in the Church concerning which they had sent inquiries to the apostle. Very much of this is necessarily local. His answers, however, contained principles of permanent application. Concerning marriage the principles enunciated were, that marriage is in itself honourable and right, that when the marriage union exists between converted and unconverted men and women the believer is not to take the initiative in bringing about a dissolution. If, on the other hand, the unbeliever is the acting person, no blame attaches to the Christian. The all-governing fact in the life of the Christian is that he is the Lord's bond-servant, and must so act as in loyalty to, and fellowship with, Him. The daughters of the King are to settle the question of marriage always and only within this sphere, consenting or refusing according as such action will help or hinder their highest realization of the fulfilment of His purposes.

The next difficulty had to do with things sacrificed to idols, and from the discussion of the local circumstances we may deduce a principle of permanent application. Love demands the consideration of the weakness of others. In the course of the argument he contrasted knowledge and love: "Knowledge puffeth up," "love edifieth"; and showed that the Christian desire must be to edify, and therefore that love rather than knowledge is to be the true principle of action. The apostle illustrated the principle by his own action in another matter. He claimed the right to cease working for his own living, and to look to them for material support. He declared that, while he had that right, he did not exercise it. This illustration carries out the true value of the first principle laid down. His knowledge of right would have puffed him up. Love resulted in their building up. The same principles he then enforced by illustrations from the religious and athletic feasts. The one master principle obtaining in the mind of those who ran in the races he expressed in these words: "So run that ye may obtain." The goal of the Christian is not merely his own crowning, but the ultimate realization by all, of the purposes of the Lord; so that the question whether things sacrificed to idols must be eaten, must be decided in the light of the necessity for bringing all present matters into subservience to that final issue of the goal.

Continuing to deal with the same subject, he persistently set it in the light of such principles as cover the whole field of life, and illustrated the fact that privilege is not in itself assurance against ultimate failure by reference to the example of Israel. They were guilty of four sins; idolatry, fornication, tempting Jehovah, and murmuring. Because of these, notwithstanding their baptism to Moses, their eating of spiritual food, and drinking spiritual drink, they were over-thrown. The warning based upon the illustration is contained in the words, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." To this warning he added the gracious declaration, "God ... will ... make also a way of escape. ... Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." Then, in sudden and startling fashion, he gave the greatest argument for the Christian position by putting the Christian feasts into contrast with idol feasts. The position is summarized in the teaching that the test of Christian action is expediency, and the test of expediency is edification. This summary is followed by local instructions, and finally the whole teaching is condensed into the form of two governing principles, first, "Do all to the glory of God"; and second, "Give no occasion of stumbling." Dealing with the question of the position of women in the Corinthian assembly, he taught that woman bears the relation to man that man bears to Christ. Man bears the same relation to Christ as that which Christ bears to God. If we commence this argument from the highest fact, the relation of Christ to God, three great facts are borne in upon the mind. God is equal with Christ, God co-operates with Christ, God is the Head of Christ. Carrying this out, we see that Christ has made Himself equal with man for co-operation with man, while yet He is the Head of man. Again following the argument, man is equal with the woman in Christ, for co-operation with her in Christ, while he is yet her head in Christ. The application of the principle is that woman has a right to the exercise of ministry, but that in such exercise she must ever recognize the headship of man. Knowing that this might be misconstrued into an argument for the inferiority of woman, which would lead to their being despised in Corinth, he declared that in the Lord neither is without the other. Both are needed for the fulfilment of His purposes.

The last matter discussed at length in this section was that of the Lord's Supper. In their observance of this sacred ordinance, which was intended to be the symbol of communion, they had manifested differences and divisions. The condition of affairs existing is a startling revelation of the carnality of the Church. In order to the correction of these abuses he first told them the simple story of the institution of the sacred feast, and then declared its value to the world, and in solemn words warned them against the condemnation consequent upon unworthy eating and drinking. Thus closed the distinctively corrective section of the letter. There were other matters needing attention, but these the apostle dismissed in the words, "The rest will I set in order when I come."

B. Constructive. The Spiritualities - 1 Corinthians 12:1-15:58

Turning from the corrective section of his letter, to the constructive, the apostle devoted himself to dealing with the spiritualities, which conditioned the order of the Church, and equipped her for her service, under three heads; the unifying Spirit, the unfailing Law, the ultimate Triumph.

In setting forth the great truth of the unification of the Church by the Spirit of God the apostle first showed how the union was created. The master principle is that of the Lordship of Jesus, and the power both for confession and obedience is that of the Holy Spirit. In the administration of the unification, the unifying force is God in the three Persons of His Trinity. Within the unity there is variety of gifts, ministries, workings. The whole truth may be summarized thus; the Spirit bestows the gifts or capacities; the Lord directs the service; God bestows the power. This threefold fact the apostle then dealt with in greater detail. The diversities of gifts by the Spirit is set forth in the enumeration of nine separate and distinct gifts, all of which are bestowed by and under the control of the one Spirit. The ministrations of the Lord are illustrated under the figure of the body, wherein diversity is recognized as the consent of all members to the government of the Head, that government creating the principle of power and unification. The subject of the workings of God is introduced by a fundamental statement, "God hath set," and then an illustrative list of eight manifestations of ability follow.

The teaching concerning the unifying Spirit ended with the injunction to desire earnestly the best gifts, and the promise that the apostle would show the most excellent way to obtain them. That he now proceeded to do by dealing with the unfailing law. That law briefly is love, and in the chapter which is so full of beauty we have his analysis of love. He set forth first its values, showing it to be the strength of service, the energy of equipment, the dynamic of devotion; and then named its virtues in a double seven ; finally declaring its absolute victory in the all-inclusive declaration "love never faileth," which declaration he demonstrated by comparison between the things that pass and the things that abide, of which latter he declared love to be the greatest.

Having thus dealt with the law, he proceeded to show how it operates, returning to the subject of gifts. The whole teaching here may thus be stated; the desire for the best gift is to be tested by the profitableness of the gift in the edification of another, and thus finally the inspiration of true desire is love.

Finally the apostle turned to the discussion of the ultimate triumph, setting in its light all the difficulties and disorders of the little while. Dealing first with Christ's resurrection, he claimed that it was established by three lines of proof: his preaching, and the results following in their own experience; that the resurrection was in harmony with the declarations of Scripture; that it was attested by a company of those who actually saw Him after resurrection. He then set forth the importance of the doctrine of resurrection in regard to the salvation and the resurrection of the saints, in regard to the programme of God, and in its bearing on present conduct. Turning to the discussion of intellectual difficulties, he practically summarized them in two questions: "How are the dead raised up?" and "With what body do they come?" Dealing with mistaken ideas concerning the doctrine of resurrection, he claimed that death was in itself a process of resurrection, and that there might be continuity of personality without identity of the material body, but insisting that the new body would come in some sense out of the old. All through he used the illustration of the single grain of seed. In answer to the second question, "With what body do they come?" he described, in a wonderful passage, the new body as being soul-governed. Finally he uttered anew his assurance of the fact of resurrection, and ended the whole argument with a magnificent challenge to death which breathes the spirit of triumph over it.

He then made his ultimate appeal, which must be read in close connection with the fundamental proposition. Having shown the perils of the carnalities, and corrected them by a declaration concerning the spiritualities, he laid upon the saints to whom he wrote the solemn charge that they should be "steadfast, unmovable, always abounding" in that fellowship into which they had been placed in the "work of the Lord."

Illustrative Conclusion - 1 Corinthians 16:1-16:24

The conclusion is local and personal, yet nevertheless is an interesting commentary upon the theme of the whole letter. The idea of fellowship in service obtains from first to last, as to the collection for the troubled saints at Jerusalem, as to the apostle's own manifold activities, as to Timothy, and Apollos, and other loved ones who help in the work and labour; until at last the Lord in Whose work all are engaged is declared; and those who love Him not are pronounced Anathema. The final word is that of the grace of the Lord as a message of blessing to Corinth, and in that the apostle has fellowship also, in that he sends to them his love in Christ Jesus.